Whether you're a weekend warrior or serious competitor, you can find a heart monitor watch that provides you with the data you want. If you just need to keep an eye on your heart rate and track your calories during exercise, inexpensive models will fill the bill. If you need racing time splits and want to input your data into a computer, high-end models will better serve your needs.
Considerations
Begin your comparison of heart monitor watches, more commonly referred to as heart rate monitors, based on the data they give you, rather than their features. You may become confused or led into buying an expensive monitor you don't need if you're impressed by a long list of features you may not need. Write a list of the data you want from your heart rate monitor before you begin shopping.
Personal Programming
Heart rate monitors provide you with data about your workout based on information you provide. The more information you can give the watch, the more accurate your data will be. For example, the data some monitors let you input include your age, weight, gender, resting heart rate and target heart rate.
Data Provided
Different heart rate monitors provide different data. If you are using the monitor as part of a weight-loss program, you'll want to track your heart rate in real time and see calories burned when you're done. If you are a competitive cyclist, you may want to split your workouts, getting data for each leg of your ride. If you are an athlete in training, you may want to note your average and peak heart rates during workouts.
Compatibility
If you will be using your heart rate monitor on an exercise machine with an electronic console, the signals from each piece of equipment may interfere with each other. If you will be exercising in close proximity to another person with a monitor, you may pick up her signals. Check to see whether a heart rate monitor has compatibility issues. Look for monitors that provide a unique, coded signal.
Data Retrieval and Storage
More expensive, complex heart rate monitors let you store multiple workouts on the watch for comparison, or let you download your workouts into a computer program so you can track and compare your training over the course of a season.
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